Three month vacancy:
1. Vacancy data are from the Vacancies Survey 2009.
2. Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March 2009.
3. Three month vacancies are vacancies which Trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (full time equivalents).
4. Three month Vacancy Rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post.
5. Three month Vacancy Rates are calculated using staff in post from the Non-Medical Workforce Census September 2008.
6. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
7. '*' figures where sum of staff in post (as at 30 September 2008) and vacancies (as at 31 March 2009) is less than 10. Staff in post:
Staff in post data are from the Non-Medical Workforce Census September 2008. General:
1. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number.
2. Calculating the vacancy rates using the above data may not equal the actual vacancy rates.
3. Strategic Health Authority figures are based on Trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of health care. Source:
The Information Centre for health and social care

7 Sep 2010 : Column 447W

7 Sep 2010 : Column 448W

Total vacancy rates and numbers for all hospital and community health services (HCHS) doctors (excluding doctors in training and equivalents) and qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in the London strategic health authority area and by each acute Trust

All HCHS Doctors (excluding Doctors in Training and Equivalents)

Consultants

March 2009

September 2008

March 2009

September 2008

Total vacancies rate %

Total vacancies number

Staff in post (full time equivalents)

Staff in post (headcount)

Total vacancies rate %

Total vacancies number

Staff in post (full time equivalents)

Staff in post (headcount)

England

5.2

2,367

43,288

49,525

4.2

1,421

32,679

34,910

Of which:

London

7.3

639

8,116

9,398

5.8

399

6,449

7,142

Of which:

Barking, Havering And Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust

RF4

9.7

34

318

338

3.6

8

212

218

Barnet And Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust

RVL

0.4

1

249

280

0.5

1

197

214

Barts And The London NHS Trust

RNJ

3.3

13

383

463

0.8

3

355

417

Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust

RG3

1.8

3

160

175

0.0

0

115

124

Chelsea And Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust

RQM

2.7

5

181

214

3.1

5

154

175

Ealing Hospital NHS Trust

RC3

1.1

1

86

100

0.0

0

63

67

Epsom And St Helier NHS Trust

RVR

1.9

5

259

297

2.4

5

200

220

Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust

RP4

5.5

13

225

248

3.2

7

211

232

Guy's And St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust

RJ1

22.3

124

430

470

23.2

124

408

432

Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust

RAS

4.8

6

120

130

6.4

6

87

91

Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

RQX

2.1

2

91

100

2.5

2

79

86

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

RYJ

3.3

21

624

819

3.8

21

527

637

King's College Hospital NHS Trust

RJZ

13.9

72

445

516

7.5

30

368

408

Kingston Hospital NHS Trust

RAX

3.4

5

143

168

1.6

2

121

132

Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust

RJ2

6.8

8

110

119

7.7

8

96

103

Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust

RJ6

4.4

7

152

185

5.9

7

111

115

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

RP6

9.7

11

103

115

2.6

2

76

82

7 Sep 2010 : Column 449W

7 Sep 2010 : Column 450W

Newham University Hospital NHS Trust

RNH

20.1

26

103

109

1.3

1

77

81

North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

RAP

7.4

8

100

118

3.5

3

82

87

North West London Hospitals NHS Trust

RV8

5.1

13

239

268

6.3

13

191

208

Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust

RG2

8.4

9

98

106

3.3

3

89

91

Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust

RGZ

21.5

24

88

97

8.0

6

69

72

Royal Brompton And Harefield NHS Trust

RT3

9.8

16

147

155

10.4

16

138

144

Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust

RAL

9.0

28

278

327

2.1

6

255

285

Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

RPY

1.6

2

125

136

1.8

2

108

117

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

RAN

0.0

0

56

60

0.0

0

52

55

St George's Healthcare NHS Trust

RJ7

2.1

6

283

311

0.0

0

269

287

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

RRV

2.5

13

501

595

0.0

0

470

525

West Middlesex University NHS Trust

RFW

7.4

8

100

113

6.3

5

74

79

Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust

RGC

15.8

25

133

142

10.1

13

116

120

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

RKE

5.7

7

116

136

1.9

2

105

118

Other HCHS Doctors (excluding Doctors in Training and Equivalents)

Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff

March 2009

September 2008

March 2009

September 2008

Total vacancies rate %

Total vacancies number

Staff in post (full time equivalents)

Staff in post (headcount)

Total vacancies rate %

Total vacancies number

(Staff in post) full time equivalent

(Staff in post) headcount

England

8.2

946

10,609

14,615

3.1

10,014

315,410

386,112

Of which:

London

12.6

240

1,667

2,256

5.1

2,833

55,080

67,326

7 Sep 2010 : Column 451W

7 Sep 2010 : Column 452W

Of which:

Barking, Havering And Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust

RF4

19.7

26

106

120

4.8

91

1,797

2,216

Barnet And Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust

RVL

0.0

0

52

66

3.6

54

1,452

1,777

Barts And The London NHS Trust

RNJ

26.0

10

28

46

6.1

151

2,330

2,641

Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust

RG3

6.2

3

45

51

1.4

11

808

1,043

Chelsea And Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust

RQM

0.0

0

28

39

2.1

24

1,111

1,319

Ealing Hospital NHS Trust

RC3

4.2

1

23

33

1.7

10

575

726

Epsom And St Helier NHS Trust

RVR

0.0

0

60

77

5.1

77

1,430

2,215

Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust

RP4

29.4

6

14

16

2.0

24

1,154

1,317

Guy's And St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust

RJ1

0.0

0

22

38

14.2

514

3,100

3,597

Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust

RAS

0.0

0

32

39

8.9

73

749

1,025

Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

RQX

0.0

0

12

14

6.6

54

765

1,029

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

RYJ

0.0

0

96

182

3.8

131

3,350

3,808

King's College Hospital NHS Trust

RJZ

35.1

41

77

108

10.3

242

2,116

2,507

Kingston Hospital NHS Trust

RAX

11.7

3

23

36

4.4

41

872

1,091

Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust

RJ2

0.0

0

14

16

0.5

6

1,151

1,601

Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust

RJ6

0.0

0

41

70

4.8

15

300

314

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

RP6

25.1

9

27

33

1.4

11

800

947

Newham University Hospital NHS Trust

RNH

49.3

25

26

28

1.1

7

657

786

North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

RAP

21.5

5

18

31

7.0

120

1,584

2,006

7 Sep 2010 : Column 453W

7 Sep 2010 : Column 454W

North West London Hospitals NHS Trust

RV8

0.0

0

48

60

3.4

29

820

990

Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust

RG2

38.9

6

9

15

2.3

12

519

645

Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust

RGZ

48.9

18

19

25

0.7

7

983

1,099

Royal Brompton And Harefield NHS Trust

RT3

*

0

9

11

4.5

79

1,677

1,910

Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust

RAL

49.0

22

23

42

5.1

33

610

734

Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

RPY

0.0

0

17

19

3.0

11

369

513

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

RAN

*

0

5

5

0.9

18

2,042

2,509

St George's Healthcare NHS Trust

RJ7

29.4

6

14

24

2.0

19

943

1,320

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

RRV

29.5

13

31

70

1.8

15

804

965

West Middlesex University NHS Trust

RFW

10.4

3

26

34

4.5

102

2,164

3,013

Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust

RGC

41.3

12

17

22

4.0

31

745

904

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

RKE

30.9

5

11

18

6.3

75

1,106

1,334

Total vacancy:
1. Vacancy data are from the Vacancies Survey 2009.
2. Total vacancy information is as at 31 March 2009.
3. Total vacancies are vacancies which Trusts are actively trying to fill (full time equivalents).
4. Total Vacancy Rates are vacancies expressed as a percentage of vacancies plus staff in post.
5. Total Vacancy Rates are calculated using staff in post from the Non-Medical Workforce Census September 2008.
6. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
7. '*' figures where sum of staff in post (as at 30 September 2008) and vacancies (as at 31 March 2009) is less than 10. Staff in post:
Staff in post data are from the Non-Medical Workforce Census September 2008. General:
1. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number.
2. Calculating the vacancy rates using the above data may not equal the actual vacancy rates.
3. Strategic Health Authority figures are based on Trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of health care. Source:
The Information Centre for health and social care

Appointments Commission: Civil Service Live Conference

Graham Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the public purse was of the Appointments Commission stand at Civil Service Live 2010. [12578]

Mr Simon Burns:
The costs of the Commission's attendance at Civil Service Live July 2010 can be analysed as follows:

£

Space hire

7,880

Delivery and set up of stand, equipment hire

2,015

7 Sep 2010 : Column 455W

Staff travel

664

Cancer

Mr Baron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the cancer patient experience survey will form part of the quality accounts of NHS trusts. [12774]

Mr Simon Burns:
Quality accounts are annual statements based on the quality improvement objectives chosen by boards of organisations that provide care to national health service patients. Regulations oblige organisations to review all the data available to them. Organisations will be able to use information from the cancer patient experience survey if they identify this as an objective for their organisation.

For the future, quality accounts will evolve to reflect the Government's aim of developing a new culture of leadership and responsibility across the NHS. Following a formal evaluation over the summer, we will consult on how the potential of quality accounts can be better realised, including by:

relating the content to emerging outcome measures and quality standards;

building in third party assurance through external audit; and

extending Quality Accounts to primary and community care providers, following the evaluation of the pilots in North East and East Midlands strategic health authorities.

Proposals will be consulted on in the autumn, with updated regulations and guidance to follow later in the year.

Chlamydia: Screening

Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to improve arrangements for chlamydia screening. [13171]

Anne Milton:
Tackling chlamydia screening remains part of Tier 2 of the Vital Signs framework. The revised Operating Framework for 2010-11 published in June 2010 stressed the need for the national health service to ensure that it continues to deliver agreed plans with no reduction in the standards or quality of services, for the rest of the 2010-11 year.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Medical Treatments

Harriett Baldwin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to review its guidelines relating to the treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis; and if he will make a statement. [12237]

Mr Burstow:
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) regularly reviews its published guidance. We understand that NICE is currently reviewing its clinical guideline on chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis to determine whether it needs updating and will consult on its review proposals later this year. Further information is available on NICE's website at::

Dementia

Jim Dobbin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the national audit of dementia services to be (a) completed and (b) published; and in what format it will be published. [12586]

Mr Burstow:
The Department anticipates that the national audit of dementia services will be available in October 2010. The format and how the results will be published is yet to be decided.

Dementia: Drugs

Stephen McPartland:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce the use of antipsychotics for the treatment of dementia; and if he will make a statement. [12841]

Mr Burstow:
The National Clinical Director for dementia is leading the work to implement the recommendations made by Professor Sube Banerjee in his report into the use of anti-psychotic medicines, which was published in November 2009. The Department is working with the NHS Information Centre to develop an audit of the prescribing of anti-psychotics for people with dementia.

Dementia: Hertfordshire

Stephen McPartland:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed with dementia in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) Stevenage constituency in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [12839]

Mr Burstow:
The information is not held in the format requested.

The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) gives the numbers of patients on the dementia disease register for the financial years 2006-07 to 2008-09. The available figures show the number of those with dementia who are on the register at the end of each year.

Figures are not available for earlier years. Figures for 2009-10 will be published in autumn 2010.

The following table shows the figures for the primary care trusts (PCTs) which cover Hertfordshire.

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

East and North Hertfordshire PCT

2,092

2,204

2,361

West Hertfordshire PCT

1,996

2,030

2,253

Total

4,088

4,234

4,614

Notes:
1. The QOF figures are collected by national health service organisation rather by constituency and so it is not possible to give figures for Stevenage constituency.
2. Figures are not the number of newly diagnosed dementia patients but the number who are on the register at the end of each year.
3. The national QOF was introduced as part of the new general medical services contract on 1 April 2004.
4. Participation by practices in the QOF is voluntary, though participation rates are very high, with most personal medical services practices also taking part.
5. The published QOF information was derived from the quality management analysis system (QMAS), a national system developed by NHS Connecting for Health.
6. QMAS uses data from general practices to calculate individual practices' QOF achievement. QMAS is a national information technology system developed by NHS Connecting for Health to support the QOF.
7. The QMAS captures the number of patients on the various disease registers for each practice. Source:
The Information Centre for health and social care

7 Sep 2010 : Column 457W

Stephen McPartland:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dementia patients have been prescribed anti-psychotics in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) Stevenage constituency in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [12840]

Mr Burstow:
No patient details are recorded when a prescription is processed. It is therefore not possible to say how many patients receiving a prescription for an anti-psychotic drug have a diagnosis of dementia.

Information is collected on the number of prescription items for anti-psychotic drugs within sections 4.2.1 ('Antipsychotic drugs') and 4.2.2 ('Antipsychotic depot injections') of the British National Formulary, outlining the number of prescriptions written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in England.

Departmental Consultants

Alun Cairns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average and (b) highest daily rate paid to consultants by his Department was in each of the last five years. [13058]

Mr Simon Burns:
The Department is unable to provide the average and highest daily rates paid to consultants in each of the last five years.

The preferred practice of the Department is to negotiate costs for a whole piece of work rather than agreeing individual day rates.

This process provides protection from the financial risks being exposed if day rate based contracting was used. In these instances, although considered when costing the work, commissions are awarded on a total fixed cost basis to reflect the appropriate skills mix and resource required to deliver the work.

Departmental Empty Property

Matthew Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on vacant properties in each year since 1997. [13029]

Mr Simon Burns:
The information requested since 1997 is not available. The estimated expenditure excluding VAT by the Department on vacant properties for each of the past five years is:

£

2005-06

1,750,000

2006-07

1,325,000

2007-08

950,000

2008-09

850,000

2009-10

4,350,000

The main reason for the increase in 2009-10 is the rationalisation of estate in the arm's length body sector and surplus property being returned to the Department for disposal or sub-let.

The Department is actively seeking to dispose of its interest in those properties that remain vacant.

7 Sep 2010 : Column 458W

Departmental Furniture

Matthew Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many chairs his Department has purchased in each year since 1997; how much it spent in each such year; and what the five most expensive chairs purchased in each such year were. [12809]

Mr Simon Burns:
The Department does not hold separate records for the numbers and cost of chairs it has purchased since 1997. Information is held in our financial system under a general heading 'furniture and fittings'. To provide the information as requested would incur disproportionate costs.

Departmental ICT

Pete Wishart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the monetary value of each such contract was. [12721]

Mr Simon Burns:
The Department abandoned two information technology (IT) contracts in the last five years.

These were the Fujitsu Local Service Provider contract, terminated in May 2008 with a value of £1,104 million over 10 years and the Fujitsu front line helpdesk, terminated March in 2009 with a value of £55 million over seven years. Both contracts were awarded as part of the National Programme for IT.

Epilepsy

Owen Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds (1) for benchmarking purposes on (a) emergency hospital readmittance rates for epilepsy, (b) median times for a first epilepsy specialist appointment, (c) rates of epilepsy misdiagnosis and (d) the incidence of deaths caused by epilepsy in (i) England and (ii) other EU member states; [12537]

(2) for benchmarking purposes on comparative and sudden unexpected death rates in epilepsy in (a) England and (b) other EU member states; [12538]

(3) on the emergency hospital readmittance rate for people with epilepsy. [12539]

Mr Burstow:
Statistics on emergency hospital readmissions rates for epilepsy are not routinely produced. The hospital episodes statistics database contains information about admissions to hospital from which bespoke analyses about readmissions can be extracted. However the analysis necessary to calculate readmissions is particularly complicated and would incur disproportionate costs.

Information on the median time for first specialist appointment is not collected.

The rates of epilepsy misdiagnosis are not collected.

The Department does not routinely hold international comparative data. However, World Health Organization age-standardised death rates for epilepsy indicate that the United Kingdom has 1.5 deaths per 100,000 population, 7 Sep 2010 : Column 459W
compared with the median rate of a comparable set of European countries (the EU-15) of 1.07 deaths per 100,000.

All international comparisons should be interpreted with caution, due to differences in registration systems and coding conventions.

Food Standards Agency

Andrew Stephenson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria the Food Standards Agency takes into account when selecting subjects for public awareness campaigns. [12669]

Anne Milton:
The criteria taken into account by the Food Standards Agency when selecting subjects for public awareness campaigns (primarily salt, saturated fat and food hygiene between 2002 and 2010) are:

subject is a key part of the agency's strategic objectives;

subject has a clear public health benefit;

subject offers support to industry (for reformulation in terms of healthier eating and for safer and cleaner commercial kitchens in terms of food hygiene) and is suitable for partnership activity with both industry and non-governmental organisations; and

subject has clear potential for savings in public finance.

General Practitioners

Mr Gray:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the proposals in the Health White Paper, how it is planned that GP consortia will be supported to commission appropriate services for (a) children with autism and mental health problems and (b) other people with complex needs. [12516]

Mr Burstow:
To support general practitioner (GP) consortia in their commissioning decisions, we will create an independent NHS Commissioning Board. The board will provide leadership for quality improvement through commissioning. This will include setting commissioning guidelines on the basis of clinically approved quality standards developed with advice from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, in a way that promotes joint working across health, public health and social care.

GP consortia will be responsible for commissioning the great majority of national health service services. We will expect consortia to involve relevant health and social care professionals from all sectors in helping design care pathways or care packages that achieve more integrated delivery of care, higher quality, and more efficient use of NHS resources. We will be working with the NHS and professional bodies in the transition to the new arrangements to promote multi-professional involvement.

The White Paper also creates a new role for local government in setting the local strategic context for commissioning of health improvement, health and social care. This will be informed by Joint Strategic Needs Assessments which all commissioners will use to guide their commissioning activities.

It is proposed that the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning national and regional specialised services for patients with complex and rare disease. For less rare and complex services we 7 Sep 2010 : Column 460W
expect GP consortia to commission services for their populations. We are currently consulting on the most appropriate level at which some of these services are commissioned.

The NHS Commissioning Board will also host some clinical commissioning networks, for example for targeted health services for ill and disabled children, to pool specialist expertise.

Further details on the Government's intentions for commissioning and oversight of commissioning decisions can be found in the consultation documents "Commissioning for patients" and "Local Democratic Legitimacy in Health", published on 22 July. Copies have already been placed in the Library.

General Practitioners: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of GP commissioning teams which will be required in (a) York and (b) North Yorkshire to discharge the commissioning responsibilities currently assigned to the North Yorkshire and York primary care trust; what estimate he has made of the number of staff who will be employed by those teams; and what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of their operation. [12838]

Mr Simon Burns:
We do not wish to be unduly prescriptive about the size of general practitioner (GP) commissioning consortia. There have been widespread variations in the size and population coverage of primary care trusts (PCTs), which are currently responsible for commissioning national health service health care services, and there is no evidence to suggest a single 'right' size. Practices will have flexibility within the new legislative framework to form consortia in ways they think will secure the best health care and health outcomes for their patients and locality. The NHS Commissioning Board will, however, need to satisfy itself that consortia are of sufficient size to manage financial risk effectively.

The White Paper laid out proposals for fundamental changes to the ways that the NHS is structured and run. The precise costs of the transition to the new system, and of running the new organisation, will not be known until the new organisations that will underpin the new system have been designed in more detail. We have launched a series of consultations on how the new organisations should be designed, and once the results of this are known we will publish a full impact assessment of the new systems.

The White Paper also makes a commitment to reduce NHS management costs by more than 45% over the next four years, freeing up further resources for front-line care.

The consultation document on new NHS commissioning arrangements "Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for patients", published on 22 July, seeks views on whether there should be a minimum or maximum population size for GP commissioning consortia. A copy has already been placed in the Library.

Motor Neurone Disease

Jim Shannon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed with motor neurone disease in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland 7 Sep 2010 : Column 461W
and (d) Northern Ireland; and what steps his Department has taken to provide support services for such people. [12830]

Mr Burstow:
Information on the number of people diagnosed with motor neurone disease is not collected. However, the National Service Framework for Long-term Neurological Conditions (the NSF) estimates that around two new cases of motor neurone disease are diagnosed each year per 100,000 population.

The NSF was developed to address the long-term health and social care needs of people living with neurological conditions, including those with rapidly progressing conditions such as motor neurone disease.

NHS: Civil Service Live Conference

Graham Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the public purse was of the NHS Choices stand at Civil Service Live 2010. [12835]

Mr Simon Burns:
The NHS Choices stand at Civil Service Live 2010 was shared with Directgov and businesslink.gov.uk. The total cost of the stand was £12,165 plus VAT. NHS Choices' contribution to these costs was £4,055 plus VAT.

NHS: ICT

Graham Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the National Programme for IT in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10. [12579]

Mr Simon Burns:
The total cost of the national programme for information technology (IT) includes both central costs, and the costs managed by local national health service bodies incurred in implementing the systems, for example in training staff and upgrading computer hardware.

In its report "The National Programme for IT in the NHS: Progress since 2006", published in May 2008, the National Audit Office estimated that some £3.55 billion had been spent on the programme to 31 March 2008. This figure included an estimate for local NHS expenditure, which is not routinely collected in a way that differentiates expenditure on the national programme from other local IT-related expenditure.

Total cumulative expenditure, estimated on the same basis, to 31 March 2009 was £4.738 billion, and to 31 March 2010, £5.829 billion.

NHS: Reorganisation

James Morris:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will conduct an assessment of the effect of his proposed reforms to the NHS on local authorities, with particular reference to the potential merging of adult social care and health provision. [12628]

Mr Burstow:
The Government have not proposed merging adult social care and health provision, although our White Paper, "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS" does propose a new function for local authorities of joining up the commissioning of local national health service services, social care and public health.

7 Sep 2010 : Column 462W

The Government are currently consulting on how best to implement the reforms in the White Paper, and have published further details for consultation. As explained in an analytical strategy published alongside the White Paper, the Department is using the consultation period to inform the development of an impact assessment, which will provide a wide-ranging and robust analysis of the proposals, including their impact on local authorities. The impact assessment will be published alongside or shortly after the response to the consultation.

Nutrition

Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 20 July 2010, Official Report, column 12WS, on machinery of government changes, which nutrition programmes will transfer from the Food Standards Agency to his Department. [12614]

Anne Milton:
The following nutrition policy work for England will be transferred to the Department:

scientific advice and secretariat to Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 20 July 2010, Official Report, column 12WS, on machinery of government changes, if he will report annually on his Department's progress in respect of those nutrition policy programmes transferred from the Food Standards Agency to his Department. [12616]

Anne Milton:
Information about the Department's programmes of work will be provided to Parliament in its annual report.

Salt

Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 20 July 2010, Official Report, column 12WS, on machinery of government changes, if he will make it his policy to continue the salt reduction programme when responsibility for that programme transfers from the Food Standards Agency to his Department. [12617]

Anne Milton:
The Government recognise the extensive work already carried out to encourage the food industry to reduce levels of salt in food, and the significant achievements that have been made by all sectors of the food industry.

We are committed to improving public health, and we will continue to engage with the food industry on product reformulation.

Smoking: Public Places

Mr Knight:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health in respect of how many venues his Department has issued an exemption from the ban on smoking in public places since the implementation of that ban. [12584]

7 Sep 2010 : Column 463W

Anne Milton:
None. Exemptions are listed in the legislation, statutory instrument 2007 No. 765, Public Health England, The Smoke-free (Exemptions and Vehicles) Regulations 2007, and therefore cannot be issued on a discretionary basis.

Thromboembolism

Mr McCann:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how he plans to develop an indicator for venous thromboembolism reduction to reflect the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Quality Standard which can be used by the NHS Commissioning Board and GP consortia; [12512]

(2) what (a) evidence and (b) procedures will be used to define the indicators which will appear in the finalised NHS Outcomes Framework; [12513]

(3) if he will bring forward proposals to include reduced venous thromboembolism as an indicator for safe treatment within the first NHS Outcomes Framework. [12555]

Mr Simon Burns:
The Government's White Paper 'Equality and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', published 12 July, set out how the improvement of health care outcomes for patients should be the primary purpose of the national health service.

On 19 July, we launched a public consultation on proposals for developing an NHS Outcomes Framework. 'Transparency in outcomes-a framework for the NHS', seeks views on the structure, and core principles that should underpin the development of the framework as well as the more specific outcome indicators that should be included. The consultation can be accessed via the following link:

The consultation document puts forward proposals for a framework structured around five broad outcome goals or domains.

Domain 1: Preventing people from dying prematurely;

Domain 2: Enhancing the quality of life for people with long-term conditions;

Domain 3: Helping people to recover from episodes of ill health or following injury;

Domain 4: Ensuring people have a positive experience of care; and

Domain 5: Treating and caring for people in a safe environment and protecting them from avoidable harm.

Within domain 5, which looks at patient safety, venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been included as an example in the improvement area covering safe treatment. In Annex A (page 59, paragraph 3.63) of the consultation document, the example indicator for VTE measures the incidence of VTE through Hospital Episode Statistics data. To support the achievement of outcomes in all domains of this framework, there will be a suite of Quality Standards setting out what high quality care looks across all major pathways of care.

During the consultation period, the Department will be analysing potential outcome indicators against a set of criteria; which will lead to the selection of 20-30 evidence-based outcome indicators that are clinically relevant and reflect what is important to patients. In the 7 Sep 2010 : Column 464W
selection of the final indicators for the framework, reference will be made to Quality Standards. This process is described in chapter 3 (page 18, paragraph 3.3-3.63) of the consultation document.

The NHS Outcomes Framework will provide a mechanism by which the Secretary of State for Health can hold the proposed NHS Commissioning Board to account for the outcomes it is securing for patients through its role in allocating resources and overseeing the commissioning process that, in future, will be led locally by general practitioner consortiums. How consortiums are held to account for delivering these outcomes will be a matter for the NHS Commissioning Board to determine, subject to legislation.

Mr McCann:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to Baroness Thornton of 19 July 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, columns 170-1WA, on health: malnutrition, (1) what changes he plans to make to the nationally-defined goal in the Commission for Quality and Innovation scheme for acute providers for 2011-12 in respect of reducing the incidence of venous thromboembolism by increasing the percentage of patients who must be risk-assessed using the national risk assessment tool before payment is triggered; [12623]

(2) what plans he has to retain for 2011-12 the current proportion of one fifth of the financial value of each acute provider in respect of the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) scheme which is linked to nationally-defined CQUIN goals. [12624]

Mr Simon Burns:
We expect to clarify any changes to the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation framework for 2011-12, including the financial value of schemes and whether there will be any nationally defined goals, later this year.

Tobacco

Philip Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the cost was of his Department's tobacco policy team in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement; [12277]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2010, Official Report, columns 890-91W, on tobacco, what the job (a) title and (b) description is of the seven people employed in the tobacco policy team; and what recent estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of employing those people. [12421]

Anne Milton:
The grade titles and pay bands of the seven civil servants employed in the Department's Tobacco Programme are set out in the following table:

Grade

Whole-time equivalent civil servants in tobacco programme

Current inner London pay range (minimum-maximum)

Deputy Director (SCS1)

0.5

£58,200-£117,800

Grade 6

1.0

£57,967-£73,828

Grade 7

1.5

£46,698-£60,962

Senior Executive Officer

1.0

£35,498-£45,118

Fast Stream Officer

1.0

£28,884-£41,546

Executive Officer

1.0

£23,767-£29,600

7 Sep 2010 : Column 465W

Administrative Officer

1.0

£19,579-£23,120

Civil servants in the Department's Tobacco Programme are based in London and support Health Ministers to achieve the Government's objectives in the area of tobacco control.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

1 Carlton Gardens

Pete Wishart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) refurbishment and (b) redecoration of the non-residential areas within 1 Carlton Gardens has been undertaken since his appointment; and what the cost to the public purse was in each case. [13206]

Alistair Burt:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has undertaken some required refurbishment and redecoration of the non-residential areas of 1 Carlton Gardens since the appointment of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.

The refurbishment and redecoration of the non-residential areas has been undertaken in accordance with lease obligations and as a result of the Quadrennial Inspection of 2009.

We are required under the terms of the fully repairing lease

"as often as necessary, well and substantially to repair, renew, uphold, clean and keep in repair the demised premises."

The cost for this essential upkeep was met from the FCO Estates maintenance budget as follows.

(b) Painting, redecoration and some replastering of the stairwell covering three floors: £12,506.

Afghanistan: Religious Freedom

Jeremy Lefroy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Afghanistan on the extent of religious freedom in that country. [12041]

Alistair Burt:
The Government strongly support the right to freedom of religion or belief. We are working to support all individuals who face discrimination and persecution on the basis of religion, wherever they are in the world. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a regular dialogue with the Afghan Government on human rights, including the need to ensure the security of all Afghans, regardless of religion. Article two of the Afghan Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and we expect the Afghan Government to fully implement this. In addition, we will also raise particular cases of concern with the Afghan Government as necessary.

7 Sep 2010 : Column 466W

Arms Control

Mr Bain:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in negotiations on establishing an International Arms Trade Treaty to limit the sales of arms to unsuitable states. [13228]

Alistair Burt:
The UK actively supports the UN process to establish a strong, robust, legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) that will establish common international standards for the trade in conventional arms. Negotiation of an ATT began in New York from 12 to 23 July 2010 and good progress has been made. The meeting resulted in the chair of the process, Ambassador Moritan, producing a number of documents that will form a solid basis for negotiations to continue in February 2011. The timetable remains ambitious, but the UK will continue to support efforts to secure this important Treaty.

Departmental Billing

Stewart Hosie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in July and August 2010. [13298]

Alistair Burt:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) supports the Government's Prompt Payment initiative and since its launch the Department and its agencies have continued to work hard to improve the percentage of supplier invoices paid promptly. This combined performance meant that the FCO paid 96.45% and 95.57% of supplier invoices within 10 days of receipt in July 2010 and August 2010 respectively.

The FCO is aware of the importance of paying suppliers promptly, and makes every effort to pay 80% of supplier invoices within five working days.

Departmental Buildings

Angus Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those overseas properties which his Department shares (a) with other United Kingdom departments and (b) with foreign Governments. [12187]

Alistair Burt:
The information is as follows:

(a) The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) shares its overseas office accommodation with other United Kingdom Government Departments and the British Council in the 164 posts listed as follows. Full address details for the overseas properties involved can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website